Hardik Pandya’s workload and lack of recent cricket could become a key consideration for India as they build towards the 2027 ODI World Cup, with head coach Gautam Gambhir stressing the all-rounder’s need for sufficient game time before the global tournament.India begin their World Cup preparations with the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies, but will be without both Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is away on Asian Games duty, while Pandya is still not fit to bowl 10 overs in an ODI.Gambhir, however, made it clear that both remain central to India’s plans for the World Cup in South Africa.“Whether it’s Hardik, whether it’s Jasprit Bumrah, both of them are going to be extremely important for us in South Africa. Because the way if you talk about Jassi or if you talk about Hardik, very few teams have a player like that who can bowl 10 overs for you, plus bat at number six or seven, plus with that impact,” Gambhir told JioStar ahead of India’s home season.The bigger concern for Pandya is match practice. After the IPL, the all-rounder has not played a substantial amount of cricket, and Gambhir believes that could leave him short of game time if his focus is primarily on the 50-over format.“Especially for Hardik, because he needs game time as well. Because after the IPL he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. So if the focus is only that he has to play the 50-over format, then he might be short of cricket,” Gambhir said.For India, getting Pandya ready for the World Cup is not simply about his fitness. Gambhir wants him to enter the tournament with enough competitive cricket behind him to ensure his rhythm and confidence are in place.“Game time going into the World Cup is going to be extremely, extremely important. You cannot go there half-cooked. So you should have enough game time, your rhythm should be so good, because going to the World Cup, there are no ifs and buts,” he explained.The West Indies series will mark the beginning of India’s preparations for the 2027 World Cup, although Pandya and Bumrah will not be part of the opening phase. Their absence also comes at a time when India are managing an increasingly crowded international calendar.Gambhir indicated that workload management could become increasingly important, particularly when players have to move between formats in quick succession.India’s upcoming multi-format tour of New Zealand is a case in point. The first Test in Wellington begins on November 19, only three days after the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand in Tauranga. The tour features 12 matches across formats.Gambhir suggested that some senior batters could therefore be rested from portions of the ODI series to allow them to prepare properly for the two-Test assignment.“Often for Test match preparation, you will have to give your batters a break as well from white-ball to move into Test cricket, because coming from T20 to one-day cricket is easy,” he said.With only two days available for training before the Test series, players such as captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal could potentially benefit from a break from some ODIs, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy could also face workload considerations.Gambhir believes the demands of modern international cricket will make three-format players increasingly difficult to maintain.“Look, ideally for any coach it is very important that as many players play all three formats, the better it is, because continuity in international cricket is very important,” he said.“So, as much as the coach wants, as much as the selectors want, whatever they do, you will have very few three-format players in the coming times, because you will have to keep rotating your players, whether they are spin bowlers or fast bowlers,” he explained.For Gambhir, however, Test cricket remains the foundation of a strong cricketing nation.“When you are getting the new guys in, obviously (you are) trying to make them feel how important Test cricket is, because I’m a very big believer that a strong Test cricketing nation is a strong cricketing nation.“It’s not the other way around. I’ve never believed that a strong T20 cricket nation is a strong cricketing nation. So red-ball still remains our priority,” the coach asserted.Gambhir’s own tenure has already produced major white-ball success, with India winning the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup during his two years in charge. The team, however, has also suffered Test-series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa at home.Reflecting on his tenure, Gambhir acknowledged that the journey has included both highs and lows.“I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs, I think I’ve had my own failures and success. But again, I’ve always believed that when you take up that kind of a responsibility, there will always be ups and downs.”
